Marlins Release Mike Cameron
The Marlins released center fielder Mike Cameron after last night's win in Atlanta, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. The move drops the team's 40-man roster to 39, though it'd fill back up if Scott Cousins is activated from the 60-day DL.
Cameron, 38, hit .239/.333/.423 in 163 plate appearances after being acquired from the Red Sox on July 5th. The Red Sox paid the majority of Cameron's salary, having designated him for assignment a week prior.
Talking to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post this month, Cameron hinted at retirement, saying, "I may be too young to quit, but my body’s telling me different. My body’s 45." Perhaps he'll change his mind once his body heals up, but if Cameron does call it quits he'll finish with a .249/.338/.444 batting line, 278 home runs, and over 15,000 innings of strong center field defense for the White Sox, Reds, Mariners, Mets, Padres, Brewers, Red Sox, and Marlins.
Rosenthal On Guillen, Marlins, Reds
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- One prominent agent told Rosenthal he can envision a free agent frenzy if a labor agreement is reached by the start of the offseason. The last labor agreement, in 2006 was followed by ridiculous overspending on mediocre veterans. The current labor agreement is set to expire on December 11th, three days after the conclusion of this year's Winter Meetings in Dallas.
- Rosenthal has a source familiar with the thinking of Ozzie Guillen who has recently dropped his predicted chances of the manager returning to 50-50.
- Rosenthal sees "mixed signals" on whether the Nationals will spend big this offseason, but he considers Jimmy Rollins a good fit.
- The Marlins intend to discuss every available starting pitcher this winter. The free agent market is looking thin, so teams with starters to trade will be in a good position.
- The Reds' top goal is to add a middle-of-the-order hitter.
Epstein On Papelbon, Ortiz, Millwood
The Red Sox have dropped five in a row, and GM Theo Epstein joined WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show today to offer his take. A few highlights:
- Epstein hasn't ruled out outside acquisitions, but internal solutions are much preferred.
- "There's never been a lack of interest" in keeping closer Jonathan Papelbon in Boston. Added Epstein, "I have to think there’s a lot of mutual interest in continuing the relationship." Papelbon is eligible for free agency after the season, having earned $27.6MM over his three arbitration years.
- The Red Sox are "obviously" interested in having designated hitter David Ortiz back, but Epstein says now is not the time to talk about that stuff.
- The GM's thoughts on having Kevin Millwood in the organization: "At the time, we had guys ahead of him. His stuff, in our judgment and the judgment of our Triple-A staff, it wasn’t going to play at the major league level here for the Red Sox above the other options that we had." The 36-year-old veteran has since posted a 3.79 ERA in six starts for the Rockies.
Rays Designate Rob Delaney For Assignment
The Rays designated righty Rob Delaney for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for top prospect Matt Moore, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Delaney, 27, spent most of the year at Triple-A. There he posted a 1.86 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and 0.4 HR/9 in 67 2/3 relief innings. He'd been designated and outrighted in May, but was re-added to the 40-man roster in July.
Moore, meanwhile, is the consensus best pitching prospect in the minor leagues. The 22-year-old southpaw has won back-to-back minor league strikeout crowns, whiffing 210 across 155 innings at Double and Triple-A this year. Moore's electric arm makes for an exciting bullpen addition to a surging Rays team that now sits 3.5 games back of the Red Sox in the wild card standings.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Ramon Hernandez
During the period of 2003-06, Ramon Hernandez was consistently among the top ten offensive catchers in the game. He hit .278/.335/.466 in 494 games in that time, averaging almost 19 home runs per season. Fortunately for Hernandez, he reached free agency when he was still in his prime, and he scored a four-year, $27.5MM deal with the Orioles in December of 2005.
After three years in Baltimore Hernandez had worn out his welcome, and the Orioles shipped him to the Reds with cash for Ryan Freel, Justin Turner, and Brandon Waring. Hernandez wasn't great in his first year with the Reds, but they re-upped him for $3MM anyway. He managed to improve his batting average and power, but re-signed with the Reds again for the same money. Hernandez has had another solid offensive year in 2011, though he is averaging less than 100 games per season. Hernandez has re-entered the discussion of the ten best offensive catchers in baseball, but he's something less than a regular and will turn 36 in May.
Hernandez re-signed in November both times, before the Reds were forced to decide whether to offer arbitration. If no deal is reached by the free agent arbitration offer deadline this year, the Reds will have a tough decision. Hernandez profiles as a Type A free agent. At the trade deadline, Reds GM Walt Jocketty wasn't even willing to listen to offers for him, under the assumption no team would offer enough. In August, Hernandez was claimed off waivers but Jocketty again chose not to make a deal.
Jocketty's unwillingness to trade Hernandez suggests he's thinking of re-signing Hernandez, or at least is mulling an arbitration offer. Hernandez and his agent Eric Goldschmidt are aware that turning down an arbitration offer from the Reds would hurt his market value, as a team would have to surrender a draft pick to sign him. There's a case to be made for accepting an offer, as Hernandez clearly likes Cincinnati and he'd get a raise too. But with Devin Mesoraco considered the catcher of the near future for the Reds and backup Ryan Hanigan locked up through 2013, how much playing time would Hernandez get? The Reds could trade Hernandez if he accepts, at which point the catcher would probably wish he had simply chosen his destination in free agency.
There's an intricate game of cat-and-mouse when a free agent like Hernandez gets Type A status. The Reds could play it safe and not offer arbitration, but then they'd risk getting nothing for him. I think the club has more leverage here, since Hernandez would be tradeable if he accepts. If he declines Hernandez would probably be the best catcher available on the free agent market, but he'd be a better fit for a team with a protected first-round draft pick.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Starters Who Could Be Extended Before Free Agency
Last year, Brett Myers, Ted Lilly, and Livan Hernandez signed extensions before hitting free agency. So far this year, the big name is Chris Carpenter, who will reportedly sit out the free agent market with a two-year deal in hand. Here are some other impending free agent starters I could see signing before open bidding begins.
- Mark Buehrle, White Sox. Based on the many reports on this topic, Buehrle's preferences appear to be A) the White Sox B) the Cardinals or C) retirement. With the Cardinals' rotation looking full, the smart money is on a new deal with Chicago.
- Aaron Harang, Padres. It's well known that Harang wants to remain in his native San Diego. I've mentioned that I could see both sides exercising his $5MM mutual option, though the two parties could work something out prior.
- Rich Harden, Athletics. As I mentioned last week, a one-year deal in the $4.5MM range could work for Harden, who wants to remain in Oakland.
- Livan Hernandez, Nationals. Hernandez has expressed his desire to stay with the Nationals, and there's be little harm in another $1MM deal.
- Chien-Ming Wang, Nationals. Wang's strikeout rate this year in eight starts is dangerously low, but there still appears to be something left in the tank post-shoulder surgery. He wants to return, and may give a discount since he'll have earned $4MM over 2010-11 from the Nats for 50-odd big league innings. It might be a stretch for the Nationals to sign both Hernandez and Wang to Major League deals though.
- Hiroki Kuroda, Dodgers. Interest in a new contract seems mutual, assuming Kuroda does not return to Japan. Kuroda, owner of a 3.25 ERA, might be a tough sell at $12MM again for the Dodgers because of raises due to Lilly ($4.5MM), Chad Billingsley ($2.725MM), and Clayton Kershaw (potentially around $6MM).
- Paul Maholm, Pirates. Maholm's season ended on a sour note with a shoulder injury, but interest in a new contract is mutual and the price might be reasonable.
- Roy Oswalt, Phillies. Assuming Oswalt's back is up to it and he wants to pitch again, perhaps he'd like to remain in Philly. Like Carpenter, the option price is too high, but a new deal could be reached.
- Tim Wakefield, Red Sox. I expect Boston or retirement for Wakefield. The decision to retire would be presumably be much easier if he gets his 200th win this month.
- This isn't a glamorous bunch, but top pitchers such as C.C. Sabathia and C.J. Wilson could re-sign quickly as well. Throw in a few extensions from the list above, and the market for free agent starters could be extremely thin.
Arbitration Eligibles: Kansas City Royals
The Royals are next in our arbitration eligibles series.
- First time: Mitch Maier, Chris Getz
- Second time: Luke Hochevar, Felipe Paulino, Brayan Pena
- Third time: Alex Gordon
- Fourth time: Melky Cabrera
I view Getz and Pena as non-tender candidates. However, with projected salaries of a million bucks or less, they may be retained. Maier is also in line for an affordable salary, at about $700K.
Paulino won't be going anywhere, as we have him down for about $1.6MM. Hochevar leads the club in innings, and should jump up to the $4MM range. Cabrera was a fine cheap free agent signing for GM Dayton Moore, who can retain the outfielder again for approximately $4MM.
We've got Gordon down for $4.3MM. Extension talks are on the offseason agenda, so the Royals could get him at a reduced salary for 2012 as part of a long-term deal.
New York Notes: Cano, Johan, Reyes
The Yankees are waiting for the playoffs, while the Mets are jockeying for .500. The latest on New York's teams…
- Scott Boras client Robinson Cano told Ken Davidoff of Newsday, "I will make my own decision. I'm a grown man, and I can decide where I want to be, what I want to do." Cano has club options for 2012 and '13 that are likely to be exercised, so it's not quite time to worry about his next contract with the Yankees.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues has reservations about the Yankees spending big bucks on Yu Darvish if he's posted, but is intrigued by the righty.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman explained to John Harper of the New York Daily News why he was "very comfortable saying no" to the Mariners' request to include Ivan Nova or Eduardo Nunez along with Jesus Montero in his offer for Cliff Lee last summer. Montero's stock is higher right now, but the debate remains open as to whether the Mariners should have chosen him over Justin Smoak.
- Johan Santana is currently showing better stuff than he did last year, Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Santana, who had shoulder surgery a year ago, is the key to the Mets' 2012 rotation.
- The Mets shouldn't sleep on the Nationals as a potential NL East contender in the near future, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman adds that the Nationals are "routinely in the discussion" when he asks baseball executives to speculate on where Jose Reyes could sign this winter.
Heyman On Pujols, Huntington, C.J. Wilson
SI's Jon Heyman leads his latest column with a discussion of the Albert Pujols situation, which is due to flare up once the season ends. Heyman's sources say the Cardinals are "not overly confident" about retaining Pujols. Heyman hears the Cardinals are not inclined to increase their offer much from nine years and around $210MM, although the SI writer thinks the team could reduce the number of years to boost the average annual value past the $23MM range. Heyman hears Pujols is "not overly thrilled" that the Cardinals' offer last winter wouldn't place him in the top ten among MLB player salaries, though by my count there are only five players currently averaging $23MM or more as their AAV.
Heyman has plenty more musings on the Pujols topic in the column; here are a few other highlights…
- The Pirates intend to extend the contract of GM Neal Huntington. He says the Bucs have waited for the draft and trade deadlines to pass. Huntington was hired four years ago.
- "There are some who could see" Rangers ace C.J. Wilson "wanting to go to his native Southern California." Heyman views the Angels as a threat for Wilson.
- Heyman says Angels people suggest they would have been willing to resume extension talks with Jered Weaver next year if they hadn't reached a deal by the team's deadline this year.
- The Twins are interested in re-signing reliever Joe Nathan, though they won't be picking up his $12MM option.
Arbitration Eligible Players With Club Options
Three pitchers have club options for 2012 yet are not named on our free agent list. The reason? They'd still be arbitration eligible if the options are declined. Let's take a look.
- James Shields, Rays: $7MM club option with a $2MM buyout. This is a slam dunk, as Shields' arbitration salary would certainly beat the $5MM net price of the option. Plus, exercising for 2012 allows the Rays to enjoy options for '13 ($7.5MM net) and '14 ($11MM net). It should be noted that Shields' contract, signed prior to the '08 season, includes $6MM in performance bonuses.
- Fausto Carmona, Indians: $7MM club option. Carmona signed three months after Shields, and his contract also provides the ultimate in team flexibility with three club options. Carmona's 2012 option does require pause, but it's worth exercising as well.
- Colby Lewis, Rangers: $3.25MM club option with a $250K buyout. Coming from a $3MM salary, Lewis would obviously beat the $3MM net price of the option. So this one will be picked up as well.